Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is her foray into country music, but this isn't just dirt roads, blue jeans and whiskey. Her country music distills all of American pop: blues, gospel, R&B, soul, house, hip-hop and yes, country. If this ain't country, what is?
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Oct 6
Has Taylor Swift jumped the shark?
One year after the release of her twelfth studio album The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift is back with an encore. Specifically, The Encore, four tracks that have polarized critics and Swifties alike, from the country-esque number one hit “Patient Zero” to her ode to married Ohi ... Show More
47m 55s
Sep 29
Carly Rae Jepsen’s pop pedagogy
Five years after her first appearance on Switched on Pop, Carly Rae Jepsen returns to the podcast to talk all things Day and Night, her latest album. Born out of Swedish disco, big emotion, and substantive life change – including becoming a wife and a mother – the double album is ... Show More
49m 17s
Apr 2024
'Cowboy Carter' | Every Single Album: Beyoncé
'Cowboy Carter' is here, marking Beyonce's foray into country music—or has she been here all along? Nora and Nathan talk about the breadth of this 27-song album (1:00), the array of influences that Beyoncé pulled from for this project (39:13), and some of their favorite and least ... Show More
1h 48m
Mar 2024
Beyoncé and country’s Black roots
When Beyoncé took the stage at the 2016 Country Music Awards, alongside the Chicks, the racist backlash was immediate.
Eight years later, she alluded to that experience when she announced her new album, Cowboy Carter.
In recent years, we’ve seen some pushback against the genre’ ... Show More
23m 35s
Apr 2024
Does Beyoncé Need Country?
And does Country need Beyoncé? The likely answer to both of those questions is no. But the discussion Beyoncé sparked seems to be the larger point of her new album, Cowboy Carter. Sidney Madden is a reporter for NPR Music, and has delved deep into the intricate dynamics of race, ... Show More
36m 4s
Oct 2021
Country Music Month 2021
Early country music performers, including: Fiddlin John Carson, Billie Maxwell, The Carter Family, Darby and Tarlton, Henry Whitter, Ernest Stoneman, The Skillet Lickers & Jimmie Rodgers. Songs include: Birmingham Jail, The Cowboy Wife, Mule Skinner Blues, Are You Washed In the B ... Show More
39m 46s